Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Harris, Joel Chandler

(Encyclopedia)Harris, Joel Chandler, 1848–1908, American short-story writer and humorist, b. Eatonton, Ga., considered one of the great American regionalist writers. As an apprentice to the editor of the Countrym...

molly

(Encyclopedia)molly or mollie, New World fish of the genus Poecilia, which includes the guppy or rainbow fish, Poecilia reticulata. Mollies, which are related to the killifishes, are found from the E and central Un...

Newfoundland, breed of dog

(Encyclopedia)Newfoundland, breed of massive, powerful working dog developed in Newfoundland, probably in the 17th cent., and later perfected in England. It stands from 25 to 28 in. (63.5–71.1 cm) high at the sho...

roulette

(Encyclopedia)roulette ro͞olĕtˈ [key], game of chance popular in gambling casinos, and in a simplified form elsewhere. In gambling houses the roulette wheel is set in an oblong table. Its outer area is marked of...

Fahd bin Abdul Aziz

(Encyclopedia)Fahd bin Abdul Aziz fäd ĭbˈən ăbdo͝olˈ ăzēzˈ [key], 1923–2005, king of Saudi Arabia (1982–2005). A son of Ibn Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia, Fahd served as education minister (1953�...

Hawran

(Encyclopedia)Hawran or Hauran houränˈ [key] [Heb.,=hollow or cavernous land], region, SW Syria. It is a largely treeless area marked by conical volcanic peaks, barren lava fields, and rich lava soil. In the nort...

Murad I

(Encyclopedia)Murad I mo͞orädˈ [key], 1326?–1389, Ottoman sultan (1362?–1389), son and successor of Orkhan to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Murad widened the Ottoman hold on European territory, ...

Kerala

(Encyclopedia)Kerala kĕrˈələ [key], state (2001 provisional pop. 31,838,619), 15,003 sq mi (38,858 sq km), SW India, on the Arabian Sea. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital. A wet tropical climate and coastal low...

Pyrenean shepherd

(Encyclopedia)Pyrenean shepherd or Berger des Pyrénées, breed of medium-sized herding dog that originated in the Pyrenees of S France; its name is often shortened to pyr shep. The breed comes in two varieties, th...

ink

(Encyclopedia)ink, pigmented fluid used for writing and drawing, or a viscous compound used for printing, both of various colors but most frequently black. The oldest known variety, India ink or China ink, is still...